Confederate Cavalry West of the River

Another Confederate cavalry raid impends. You hear the snort of an impatient horse the leathery squeaking of saddles the low-voiced commands of officers the muffled cluck of guns cocked in preparationthen the sudden rush of motion the din of another attack. This classic story seeks to illuminate a little-known theater of the Civil Warthe cavalry battles of the Trans-Mississippi West a region that included Missouri Arkansas Texas the Indian Territory and part of Louisiana. Stephen B. Oates traces the successes and defeats of the cavalry; its brief reinvigoration under John S. Rip Ford who fought and won the last battle of the war at Palmetto Ranch; and finally the disintegration of this once-proud fighting force.